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Laurie Halse Anderson: Fever 1793 (2000, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers) 3 stars

In 1793 Philadelphia, sixteen-year-old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick mother, learns about perseverance and …

An epidemic tale.

3 stars

Despite the fact that I have a habit of yelling at absurd history (like bleeding people to cure them), I rather liked this book. There are some small bits that have me on the fence because I'm wondering how they would actually look in history. Perhaps after more reading, I might upgrade my rating.

Overall, it makes the epidemic of yellow fever really tangible; it shows that epidemics turn people into the worst (or, at least, certain groups of people), where they would just toss their loved ones and friends into the streets because they feared the illness. I feel like that message could've been stronger in some scenes. It was definitely clear that strangers would rather protect their own than help everyone and would toss people should one person appear unwell.